Tearing at the seams
by bordering on insanity
Summary: Esme and carslile cullen have three adopted children, jasper, rosalie and Edward, until three troubled kids seek refuge in the cullen home. Will their horrific past haunt them forever, or can a real home and family give them their lives back?


Charlie arrived home, drunk as always. He slammed the door loudly behind him. He belched loudly and spotted us in the corner. He grinned, showing off his disgusting teeth.

"Alice?" He asked, smashing his beer bottle against the wall and picking up a long, jagged shard.

"No," I said, "I'll do it, leave her alone." I was only four, but I knew what he wanted. He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me across the room. He threw me against the wall, leaving a bloody splatter from where I hit my head. He fell upon me, beating me ruthlessly with his fists. He pulled up my arm and cut a long line from my shoulder to my wrist. I screeched in pain, Emmett took Alice to the other room, as my father continued to beat me. While I whimpered in pain, he sat back in his chair and lit a fag, putting it out on my hand when he was done, I screamed. He slapped me across the face, leaving a red handprint on my pale skin.

"Shut up, brat," He told me, lighting up another, "go," He pointed to the room next door, where Alice and Emmett were. I clutched my hand to my chest and crawled from the room. I heard giggling from the living room as I left, ugh, Victoria was here. I crawled into the bathroom and locked the door. I leant up against the bath, my little four year old body tired, I hurt everywhere. I wanted my mommy. Charlie told us that was why he beat us, because mommy had left him with us when we were only a few months old. I started to cry, the salty water leaking into the cuts on my face. I pulled a grubby rag out and ran the cold water, softly cleaning my face and arms, washing the blood away. I sponged at my shirt, trying to get the blood out. I got an equally grubby roll of bandage out of the cabinet wrapping it around my forehead and my arm, then around the burn mark on my hand. The handprint was still on my face.

I walked out. There was no more giggling coming from the living room, just the rhythmic creak of rusty sofa springs. I didn't understand what they were doing there, not as a four year old, but I didn't dare check. I might get a double beating. Alice and Emmett were waiting; we all looked identical, pale faces, chalky, chocolate brown eyes and dark brown hair, well when it wasn't matted with blood. We were identical triplets, and tomorrow was our birthday. We were the only ones who cared how old we were, we were the swan kids, we didn't go to school and we were always 'falling over'.

Our neighbours, Siobhan and Liam always asked us how we were doing, but we never answered, Charlie would kill us, literally. We had taught ourselves to read and write, but we weren't very good, and we didn't have any books. Charlie had taken anything readable and burned it. We hugged and fell asleep on our soiled mattress scrunched together in a ball, Alice in the middle. She slept a little, her thumb in her mouth, tossing and turning with her nightmares. Emmett and I stayed awake longer, nightmares made us cry, and Charlie _really_ didn't like it when we cried. I heard the rumbling of the car as Charlie went out again, probably to meet James and Laurent. That was when I fell asleep.

I was awoken by a loud banging noise; the door of our stuffy little room fell. I looked up into the light to see a man in a funny uniform. He gasped and said some long words into his radio. Another man came running and spotted us.

"Bloody hell," He said, wide eyes on us. I was sleepy, my head hurt. As my eyes fluttered closed I was lifted into someone's arms. He walked a few steps and I saw red through my eyelids. They opened weakly again. The second man was looking at me, studying me in the light. He had a tear running down his face.

"Don't cry mister," I said, in a dry cracked voice. Charlie didn't like us talking.

"Bloody hell," He said again, tears falling quickly.

"You said a _bad _word, daddy uses them all the time, "I told him, "He says the f word a lot, "

"Your dad?" The man asked,

"My daddy is gets very angry, and I don't know what I did wrong, he says it's because mommy left,"

"Sleep, little one," He told me, I snuggled into Emmett's shoulder and fell into a deep sleep.

Charlie swam around my head, standing over me, hitting me, yelling at me. I woke, screaming, in a strange bed. A woman smoothed my hair and I flinched. Was it Victoria? She beat me sometimes; she always went for my hair, dragging me, pulling large clumps out.

"Shush, baby, it's okay," The woman came into view, she had long blonde hair and a soothing smile, I'm Kate, you're social worker. I'm here to make sure your daddy never hurts you again, ok?"

"Ok, Kate , can I see Alice and Emmy now?"

"Not right now, honey. You need to rest and so do they." I nodded at the kind lady and fell asleep again.


End file.
